Why I Chose the Red, White and Blue

Americans Who Doubt the Value of Being a U.S. Citizen Should Know How Impressive It Still Feels to Become One

By

Philip Delves Broughton

Jan. 2, 2014 11:42 a.m. ET

Growing up British, I thought that I knew everything about national self-loathing. We were reared in the shadows of long-gone might, taught that we were mere dormice scuffling in the footsteps of imperial giants. To dull the pain, we administered heavy doses of sarcasm, self-effacement and "Upstairs, Downstairs."

But then I moved to the U.S., and over my decade here, I have realized that when it comes to the rhetoric of self-flagellation, as in so much else, we Europeans are small time. The U.S. government, we...